Why has my aluminum oblong cake pan oxidized?

Question

It was sitting in a cabinet under the sink and not used as often as I previously had. The kids are grown and gone. The area under the sink is clean and dry. I owned the pan about 25-30 years. The pan now has pin head sized holes all on the sides and bottom and is useless. It is not coated with a non stick surface.

I certainly agree that aluminum is not safe for cooking and use stainless steel, also a lot of PAM- because my husband does the cooking now and he tends to overcook meat.

Answer 1

In all honestly, I can't answer your question. However, I urge you not to use the pan, to throw it out. Aluminum is not healthy for baking. Switch to stainless steel (can be ordered at most housewares stores) or use stoneware......Aluminum build up in the body is thought to be at least partly responsible for Alzheimer's disease......

Answer 2

Aluminum normally does not react because it is coated with a layer of aluminum oxide. Thus it does not rust.

however, when the thin layer is gone, the aluminum becomes a little reactive and it reacts with air to become oxidised.